Banditaccia Necropolis in Cerveteri

The Banditaccia is the necropolis of Caere, one of the great Etruscan cities, on the outskirts of present-day Cerveteri. It is not a field of ruins: it is a city of the dead with streets, where the tombs were dug into the tuff like houses, with rooms, doors, ceilings with beams carved in the stone and beds for the dead. On the outside, many are covered by large round grass-covered tumuli. It has been a World Heritage site together with Tarquinia since 2004.

What to see

Follow the Via dei Sepolcri and enter the open tombs: the great tumuli, the cube tombs lined up like houses in a street and, above all, the Tomb of the Reliefs, of the 4th century BC, with walls and pillars covered in painted stucco reliefs that reproduce the objects of the house: weapons, kitchen utensils, animals. Wear comfortable shoes: there are steps and uneven ground.

Opening times and tickets

Tuesday to Sunday; closed on Mondays. From 25 October 2026 to 27 March 2027, from 9:00 to 17:00 (last entry at 16:00); from late March to October, until 19:30. The Cerveteri combined ticket, necropolis and Cerite Museum, costs €13 and is valid for 30 days; the circuit of the park's four sites, with Tarquinia, €21, is valid for four months. Under-18s enter free; ages 18 to 25, EU citizens, €2. On the first Sunday of the month entry is free.

Getting there

The necropolis is about 2 km from the centre of Cerveteri, along a road that is partly pavemented; by car there is parking at the entrance. From Rome, about 45 km by the A12 or the Aurelia.